My Night
by VibeQuake
Summary: My name is Tara Robinson and I really love history. Recently, I've heard some odd rumours about the Museum of Natural History, "where history comes to life". Apparently, they've taken their motto a little too seriously! I have decided to investigate, which may or may not turn out to be a big mistake. Takes place just after Nightingale At The Smithsonian Museum.
1. Chapter 1

Some people call me a conspiracy theorist. Some people call me crazy. And by "some people", I really mean "my family". Currently, I'm upstairs in my bedroom, feeling down because neither my parents nor my brother would listen to me at dinner, even when I was talking about something other than the rumours and whispers I'd recently heard concerning a certain museum located a few minutes' walk away from our house.

" _...come to life..."_

" _...lights and music coming from the place in the middle of the night…_

" _...roaming the streets…"_

" _...dinosaur tracks…"_

Either the nightguard at that museum is conducting an elaborate publicity stunt or something truly magical is happening in that place.

I glance up at my walls, staring at the photos up there: Teddy Roosevelt, Sacagawea, the dinosaur skeleton, the Neanderthals, Attila the Hun, Pharaoh Ahkmenrah's tablet, Neil Armstrong, Florence Nightingale, the Roman diorama, the Wild West diorama, the Hall of African Mammals… I've had my photo taken with nearly every exhibit in that museum. My classmates taunt me and say I need to get a life, but history IS my life. Other seventeen-year-old girls in my class are always going out to parties, shopping, hanging out, stuff like that. But I've always been an odd duck; I hate that kind of stuff. I'd much rather hang out with wax exhibits instead. Hence the taunting.

Out the corner of my eye, I spot someone coming into the doorway of my room.

"Go away," I snap, before the person can say anything.

"Mom says to come down and get some fruit," responds my older brother, Nathan.

"Tell her I'm going to bed now."

"Fine."

Nathan disappears.

I wait until I hear his footsteps on the stairs, before hopping off my bed and heading over to where my backpack is sitting. I arrange my cushions and a couple of soft toys in the bed in such a way that, if someone looked into the dark room, they would think it was me under the covers. I often sleep very lightly, so my parents avoid coming into my room while I'm sleeping if they can avoid it. I'm a little afraid that they'll get suspicious because I'm apparently going to bed at six o'clock in the evening, but I haven't really been sleeping well lately, so maybe they won't question it.

I change out of my pyjamas and hide them under the covers as well. I pull on jeans, a blue flannel shirt, and black converse shoes, before slinging my backpack onto my back and opening my bedroom window. I climb out onto the sloping bit of roof directly under me, then I carefully drop down to the ground and, being sure to avoid any windows, sneak out onto the road. Like I previously mentioned, it's only a five minute walk to the museum from where I live.

I know what I'm about to do is pretty illegal, I know that. But I can't help it; I've always had an insatiable curiosity when it comes to history and enigmas like these, especially when it's surrounding my favourite place on Earth: the Museum of Natural History, New York. "Where history comes to life" is their motto, and maybe it's not hyperbole after all. I need to find out exactly what's happening in that place or I'll go mad. I can't spend another day being ignored and ridiculed by my friends and family for my "wild theories"; I just can't.

I reach the museum just as the sun is beginning to set. I sneak my way through the revolving front door and immediately dart behind the stairs, avoiding the detection of the nightguard, who is standing behind the reception desk underneath the revolving globe, tidying away some papers. The museum otherwise looks empty, and no wonder; the sun is about five minutes away from setting.

I wait until the nightguard leaves the reception desk and heads off down the corridor, before hopping out from my hiding spot and dashing up the stairs. I'm not sure where I'm going to start my investigation, but if exhibits are going to be "coming to life" tonight, then I'm certainly not going to begin in the Hall of African Mammals.

Eventually, I decide that the Ancient Egypt exhibit is the best place to begin my search. It's secluded and there're gates to protect me. Plus, I love looking at that golden tablet on the wall. I guess it'd look really bad for me if I'm caught there, with an item of such immense value just a few metres away, but as long as I'm careful, I doubt I'll be caught.

When I reach the exhibit, I rush past the two jackal statues and into the room at the end with the tablet and the pharaoh's coffin. It's absolutely gorgeous, with its glowing golden shape and intricate hieroglyph detail. I wish I had one for myself, honestly, Maybe I should suggest the gift shop here start selling keyrings of it or something. I'd totally buy one. Or twenty.

"Sunset is coming," I mutter, glancing down at my watch.

At that exact moment, the tablet begins glowing brightly, the hieroglyphs on it shining directly in my face. My eyes widen, but what happens just after that is the thing that shocks me the most.

The lid of the pharaoh's coffin begins to move.


	2. Chapter 2

I want to scream but my throat feels paralysed. All I can do is stare with wide eyes as the sarcophagus lid eventually tips and slides off the main body, landing on the floor with a loud crash. I cover my eyes with my hands, terrified at what I might see next. A rotting mummy? A murderer? A criminal lying in wait to rob the museum? Honestly, I don't know which one would be worse.

When I finally muster the courage to have a peek through my fingers, what I see shocks me so much that my hands drop like stones, my eyes widen almost painfully, and my mouth falls open.

"Good evening," the man in front of me says warmly. "I am Prince Ahkmenrah of Egypt. I take it you have been invited here by Mr Daley?"

He's...a mummy… But at the same time...he's NOT a mummy… He has glowing tanned skin and he's wearing royal ancient Egyptian robes… So he MUST be the mummy. But like I said, he's NOT a conventional mummy. Apart from a few white wisps on his clothes, there's no sign of any bandages or other wrappings. He's not rotting; he looks just like a normal human being. He's...so full of life.

"A-A-A-A-A…" I clear my throat quickly. "Are y-you...an...an...an...a…"

A frown appears on his face. "Are you feeling alright?"

I slowly rise to my feet, holding the wall to make sure I don't collapse again. "I...I heard all the...the rumours...but I didn't think… I never thought… I never expected… I didn't think it was...REAL…!"

Ahkmenrah climbs out of his casket and cocks his head curiously. "Perhaps you had better sit down."

Keeping my eyes on him, I edge round the side of the room, carefully making sure my breathing remains steady. "It's not just you, is it?" I demand, pointing a shaking finger at him. "The whole museum comes to life, doesn't it?"

The exhibit gives me a half-curious half-suspicious look. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I'm Tara. I snuck in tonight because I wanted to see if the rumours about the museum coming to life at night are true." I fold my arms and flash a smirk, my confidence returning now that the shock has worn off. "Guess they are."

"Miss Tara, I must respectfully ask that you come with me," Ahkmenrah says sternly. "I must take you to the nightguard so that he can sort this out."

"Sort this out?" I give a snort. "Have me arrested, you mean."

"Well, you _are_ trespassing," the pharaoh points out, taking a step towards me.

There's an undeniable thrill of fear in my chest that's sending chills all through my body-I don't want to be arrested, after all-but I ignore it as best I can and it very soon turns into adrenaline.

"You'll have to catch me first."

With that, I turn and bolt. The two jackal statues slam the points of their spears into the the ground, just missing me as I run past. It makes sense that they're alive; supposedly EVERYTHING in the museum comes to life. I'll have to get used to it extremely fast if I want to survive here. I guess that might sound dramatic, but consider this: a T-Rex, three Neanderthals, a hall full of African predators, a group of Huns including Attila, and over a dozen Civil War puppets are all coming to life at the same time. Literally anything can happen, and it'd be REALLY bad if I got caught in the crossfire.

After escaping from a very suspicious look from a bronze statue of Christopher Columbus, I make it out onto the mezzanine, bumping into a few exhibits on the way but none as dangerous as the ones I just listed. Below me, everything is alive. I can see Teddy Roosevelt trotting around on his horse, the T-Rex skeleton wagging its tail like a dog, a few Huns behind the reception desk, and there's even an elephant lingering by the water fountain.

I almost laugh. There are many things to laugh about right now-most notably the absurdity of the situation and the fact that I was right about the rumours-but I manage to keep it in.

"Catch that girl!" Ahkmenrah's voice suddenly yells from behind me.

Letting out a yelp, I take off running so fast that I nearly fall over. I dash down the stairs as fast as I dare to go and run for the front door. Unfortunately, it's locked, and I can't waste much time trying to get it open. So I turn back and rush for the reception desk. Without stopping, I leap upwards, connect with the desk but push off again, and grab hold of the small ball on top of the spinning globe, almost losing my grip straight away. I balance my body on the piece of metal holding the globe up, only one thought running through my mind: _well, stealth mode failed miserably._

I can see that exhibits are beginning to gather around the globe. I stay as still as possible but it doesn't really matter now; everyone's already seen me.

"There she is, Larry," comes Ahkmenrah's voice from somewhere to my right.

I turn my head towards the voice and see the pharaoh standing next to Teddy Roosevelt and the nightguard who I saw earlier. None of them look happy.

"What are you doing here?" demands the nightguard-Larry Daley. "This museum is private property."

I give them a glare and keep silent, mostly because I'm now absolutely terrified of being arrested.

"Get down from there," Larry orders, clearly getting annoyed at my silence. "NOW."

Shaking my head firmly, I adjust my grip and turn my head away.

"Teddy, what am I supposed to do now?" I hear Larry mutter, assumedly to Teddy Roosevelt.

"Step aside, boys," comes an unfamiliar voice at that moment. "Let me handle this."

I slowly turn my head back and spot a brunette woman pushing her way past the three men. Her long black dress and white apron are reminiscent of the Victorian era, but it's not her clothes that help me identify her: it's the fact that I've spent countless hours next to her exhibit, reading books about her and desperately wishing that she was alive.

"What's your name, girl?" she calls to me.

My voice shakes as I respond. "T-Tara."

"My name is Florence Nightingale, Tara," the Lady With The Lamp says, her voice kind but still firm. "You are trespassing here in the museum but I promise that we will not call the police if you come down now and explain yourself, okay?"

Honestly, I'm not sure. Something tells me it's just a bluff. But at the same time, there's something about Florence Nightingale that I can't really explain. It's like she's my mother and my teacher rolled into one. I want to confide in her, hug her, be comforted by her, learn things from her. There's a warmth flowing from her that promises to always be kind and loving but never to hold anything back.

Besides, this is the best offer I'm going to get, frankly. Unfortunately, there's one small problem.

"I want to," I say slowly.

"But?" prompts Florence.

"I...I can't get down…"

Florence hums in thought for a moment, before turning to the three men. "Ahk, can you talk to Stella for me?"

Ahkmenrah stares up at me, then at Florence, before seeming to understand. "Yes, of course." He turns to look up at the elephant and speaks in a foreign language, probably Egyptian. Then, after a pause, the elephant begins to reach towards me with its trunk.

"NO," I snap, the penny finally dropping. "No, don't you dare come near me!"

"Please just stay calm," tries Florence. "This is the only way-."

"NO IT'S NOT!" I shriek, not at all happy with the idea of being held in an elephant's trunk. "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

When that doesn't work, I begin screaming, trying to frighten the elephant into leaving me alone.

"Loud, isn't she?" remarks Larry dryly.

But nothing can stop the elephant, not even my screaming. I do my best to fight it off, but nothing works. Its trunk snakes around my body and lifts me in the air, easily breaking my grip on the globe. I thrash around and continue screaming for a few seconds, before it dawns on me that if I fall from this height, I'll get hurt. I reluctantly shut both my mouth and my eyes, wishing it was all over already.


	3. Chapter 3

Finally, I feel my feet touch solid ground again. However, the elephant apparently has no sense of how hard to put me down; it accidentally sets me down so hard that I'm immediately pushed to the side. I yelp in fright and slight pain.

"Stella," Ahkmenrah says sternly, before saying something else in Egyptian.

Out the corner of my eye, I spot the nightguard moving closer to me. I immediately stab my finger towards him and snarl, "You get away from me! I'm not afraid to go down fighting!"

Larry stops dead, looking rather annoyed.

"Larry, I said I'll handle this." Florence shoots Larry a pointed look, before turning back to me and offering her hand. "Tara, how about we go somewhere private and talk?"

I eye the hand suspiciously. "Just talk?"

Florence nods.

"...just us two?"

"Yes. I promise."

After a few seconds pause, I take her hand and let her help me to my feet. She keeps hold of my hand and begins leading me away from the crowd of exhibits. I'm forced to follow, both physically and metaphorically. I have no other options right now.

She leads me into a small room just off from the foyer. It looks like an office, with a desk and chair and filing cabinet taking up most of the room. I sit down on the office chair and lean back in it as far as I can, folding my arms sulkily.

After Florence has shut the door, she turns to me and leans back against it, giving me a look that's a mixture of curiosity and another emotion that I can't pinpoint.

"If you want to know why I'm here, it's because I'm sick of everyone treating me like a freak because I love history and believe the rumours that this place is alive," I snap at the wall, not quite daring to meet Florence's eyes. "I just wanted to prove myself right for once. I didn't mean to get caught up in anything." My voice cracks ever so slightly as I add, "Please don't call the police."

I swallow the lump in my throat and quickly wipe my eyes as hot tears threaten my vision. I can't believe I just trespassed in the Museum of Natural History at night, met the very-much-alive exhibits, got carried by an elephant, and am now begging Florence Nightingale not to get me in trouble for the aforementioned trespassing.

If I'm being completely honest, I would never have seen this coming.

"I'm not going to call the police," Florence says after a while. "How old are you, Tara?"

"Seventeen."

"Peak teens." Florence chuckles softly, before carefully hopping up onto the desk and giving me a smile. "Tell me why you love history."

A spark lights inside me immediately, and I can feel many words building up inside me, ready to leap out.

I let them.

"Because it's the most interesting thing in the world. Learning about people who lived centuries ago and how different their lives were to mine is honestly breathtaking. Learning about previous wars and what caused them, inspirational women, the Renaissance, medieval castles and knights, the earliest known man to walk the Earth, animals that were common thousands of years ago, and even slightly more recent events like the first moon landing. It's the most exciting thing in the world to me. And I also love how it's the only constant thing in the world. Like, anything nowadays can be taken away in the blink of an eye and the future is always uncertain. But history is a solid presence that can never be changed. I love that constancy and the fact that I'll never run out of things to research about it even if I studied for seventy more years."

I finally pause for breath, before continuing, "But nobody ever understands. Everyone calls me names and ignores me in class. It's like I don't exist until I'm talking about something I love, and that's when they make fun of me. They even started bullying me when I first talked about the rumours that the exhibits in the amazing Museum of Natural History came to life at night." I give a slightly bitter chuckle. "You know, this is a dream come true for me. Not only am I now 100% certain that I'm right about this place but also I'm surrounded by some of the most famous people in history. I mean, I'm spilling my guts out to _Florence Nightingale_ of all people. I...may have done that before, but this time, she's actually listening to me. I…" I again have to wipe my eyes as I feel more tears prick behind my eyelids. "All I ever wanted was to be surrounded by history. That's why I love this place so much. I won't apologise for sneaking in-even though that's literally illegal-because I'm not sorry. Frankly, I'd do it again if it means I get to experience this all over again." I pause again, before quickly finishing, "Sorry."

I risk a glance at Florence and, to my surprise, find her with the kind of smile on her face that indicates that she's close to bursting out laughing. "You remind me of a certain someone I knew. Sparks ignited in her when she spoke about her passion and it showed in her words. You could actually see her eyes light up when she talked about it."

"Who?" I ask slowly.

This time, she allows herself to chuckle. "Me, when I was younger. That is exactly how I felt with nursing."

"Oh…" I stare down at my feet. "So...what are you going to do with me now?"

"Well, the doors are locked until sunrise, so you'll have to spend the night here with us."

"What?!" I sit bolt upright in sudden horror. "I have to stay here all night?!"

"The door locks automatically and stays locked all night unless there is an emergency," Florence responds. "This does not qualify as an emergency, I'm afraid."

I let out a long groan and bury my face in my hands. "I want to go home…"

"Hey, Tara…" Florence hesitantly reaches out and pats my shoulder. "Where did all that energy go, eh? You said this is a dream come true for you."

I freeze, the words " _dream come true"_ circling round in my head. I DID say that, didn't I? I can't really call myself passionate about history if I don't take this opportunity, can I?

"Does everyone in this place know everything that the person they're based on knows?" I ask slowly.

Florence nods. "That's right. The tablet imbues us with all the knowledge that the original has."

"Wait, the tablet?" I frown, tipping my head on one side. "That's the root of all this? That thing brings the museum to life?"

"Oh, I suppose that nobody has told you. Yes, Ahkmenrah's golden tablet is what brings us to life every night. It has so many magical properties that I'd wager even Ahkmenrah doesn't know them all."

"Right…" I hesitate for a moment, before asking, "Is it okay if I interview everyone here and record what they say?"

Now it's Florence's turn to frown. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"I won't show it to anyone," I say quickly. "But even if I do, do you really think they're going to believe me? A magical tablet that brings museum exhibits to life? Plus, even if I did show anyone and they did believe me, I'd be revealing that I snuck into the museum at night, and that would get me into trouble."

"Those are good points…" Florence thinks for a minute or so, before finally saying, "I'll have to ask Larry."

"Okay." I can't stop myself from smiling. This is actually quite exciting now. "Thank you, Flo- Miss Nightingale."

"Florence is fine," corrects the nurse. "Do you want to stay here while I ask him?"

"I'd rather not be left alone here, actually. I'll come with you, if that's okay."

"Yes, that's fine. Come with me, then."


End file.
